Advice on how to choose non-toxic products for your home

So parents have a great opportunity to raise their child in a non-toxic household and environment. And when we think of the environment, we always think of the rivers and the wilderness and somewhere outside. The environment is actually inside of your home. It´s the products that you are bringing inside of your home, the furnishing. It´s the paint on the walls. It´s your mattress you are sleeping on. And that eventually will affect your health. There are chemicals and ingredients and certain types of fillers in all products and so we have to understand what are the products made of, where are they coming from and are they the safest, are they the most non-toxic, are they going to affect your health. We often find within even newborn baby, a newborn baby is born with over 270 chemicals, synthetic, industrial chemicals in their bloodstream. So when you are bringing products into your home, you really want to think non-toxic, all natural, plant based, organic as much as possible. Really become a very ferocious label reader. Understand where the products are coming from. Know the companies you are supporting. You are inviting them into your home. You are shopping the store shelves. You are searching online. You better be sure and assured that they are as safe as possible. Why are locking our sinks and cabinets up and putting these prevention devices on there? We really shouldn´t lock those up. We should try to understand that the products we are using on our countertops, the products we are using on our babies´skin, the products that we using to freshen the air, they should be as healthful and as non-toxic as possible.

Christopher Gavigan

Co-founder, Honest.com & Author

Christopher Gavigan is a well-known environmental health leader, author, speaker, and entrepreneur who builds impactful brands through meaningful communications platforms, innovative consumer products, and social engagement strategies. Christopher recently has founded and launched The Honest Company, an exciting suite of healthy, non-toxic, beautifully designed products for babies and families, with founding partners Jessica Alba and Brian Lee. As the former CEO / Executive Director of Healthy Child Healthy World, Christopher shaped Healthy Child to be one of the most credible and trusted organizations in the environmental and children’s health field. Christopher is also the best selling author of Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home. Currently, Christopher sits on the Board of Directors of Mount Sinai Hospital’s Children Environmental Health Center and is a Chief Advisor to the Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute. He is also on the Advisory Boards of SAIL Capital Partners and UCLA’s Environmental Health Sciences Department. Christopher was awarded the WebMD’s “Health Hero Award for 2010” and Elle Magazine’s “Green Award” in 2007.

Raised in New York and Connecticut, Christopher graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a double major in Environmental Science and Business, and extensive Masters Degree training in Psychology from UCLA. Christopher lives in Santa Monica with wife and actress, Jessica Capshaw, and their three children Luke, Eve and Poppy.

So parents have a great opportunity to raise their child in a non-toxic household and environment. And when we think of the environment, we always think of the rivers and the wilderness and somewhere outside. The environment is actually inside of your home. It´s the products that you are bringing inside of your home, the furnishing. It´s the paint on the walls. It´s your mattress you are sleeping on. And that eventually will affect your health. There are chemicals and ingredients and certain types of fillers in all products and so we have to understand what are the products made of, where are they coming from and are they the safest, are they the most non-toxic, are they going to affect your health. We often find within even newborn baby, a newborn baby is born with over 270 chemicals, synthetic, industrial chemicals in their bloodstream. So when you are bringing products into your home, you really want to think non-toxic, all natural, plant based, organic as much as possible. Really become a very ferocious label reader. Understand where the products are coming from. Know the companies you are supporting. You are inviting them into your home. You are shopping the store shelves. You are searching online. You better be sure and assured that they are as safe as possible. Why are locking our sinks and cabinets up and putting these prevention devices on there? We really shouldn´t lock those up. We should try to understand that the products we are using on our countertops, the products we are using on our babies´skin, the products that we using to freshen the air, they should be as healthful and as non-toxic as possible.